A security analyst who spoke to the ABC on condition of anonymity said the U-turn of the Malacañang VFA was conceived as a negotiating mass when US presidential candidate Joe Biden comes to power and sanctions the Philippines for human rights violations. At a Senate hearing last week, Locsin warned that repealing the 1998 security agreement with Washington would undermine the security of the Philippines and foster the controversial aggression in the South China Sea. The US military presence in the strategic waterway was seen as a decisive counterweight to China, which claims virtually the entire sea. Shashank Bengali is the Southeast Asia correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, based in Singapore. Previously, he spoke about South Asia from Mumbai, India, and national security from the Washington office. During the Senate hearing, Locsin explained what he called the security, trade and economic benefits that the agreement offers. == is a long-standing contractual partner, an important business partner and the main provider of assistance to the Philippines. The growing strength and resilience of the security relationship between the two countries is particularly important. Under Abe, Japan has become an important security partner that has made Manila a priority in its efforts to build capacity among Southeast Asian nations.
He offered the Philippine Coast Guard nearly a dozen ships with reconnaissance planes and supplemented them with money for training, upgrades, maintenance and repairs. Since 2017, Japan has joined the annual Philippine-American membership in the Philippine-American country. Balikan exercises. Japan cannot replace the United States as Philippine security partners, but it can play an increasingly useful role. Greater burden-sharing and creative thinking on regional security will soon become a new normal. The Philippines says it is withdrawing from a major security deal with the United States. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to order the denunciation of the country`s visit agreement with the United States, his spokesman said Friday. The end of the current relationship between the United States and the Philippines would undermine regional security.
In the absence of a presence in the Philippines, the nearest U.S. ground forces, available in the event of a crisis in the South China Sea, would be more than 1,600 km away.